Under the Influence
by perfectlyrose
Summary: It started with a drunk phone call and an act of kindness but nothing's ever that simple. Dark pasts, uncertain futures, criminal masterminds and kill orders complicate everything. So does a growing, unexpected love. (Nine/Rose AU)
1. Chapter 1

Written from a prompt over on tumblr. Lots of drunkenness be contained here so...if that's not your thing, be warned. Hope you enjoy!

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John Smith was expecting to have a quiet, uneventful evening. After the hellish week he'd had he felt he damn well deserved a night that didn't involve incompetent so-called professionals making messes that he had to clean up. No, tonight was just going to be him and some takeaway and a book he'd been planning to read for a few months now.

It was close to 1:30 in the morning and John was starting to look for a good place to stop reading so he could get some sleep when his phone started vibrating on the coffee table where he'd thrown it earlier.

No one who had his number would be calling at this time of night.

He put his book down, giving his mobile a strange look as he sat up and grabbed it. John did not recognize the number on the screen but cautiously accepted the call anyways.

"Hello?" he answered gruffly.

"Jack, I'm way too drunk for you to be doing voices. I need you to come get me if you're not _busy_." The voice that came down the line was young and female and definitely slurred.

"I think you have the wrong number," John said kindly. "I'm not Jack."

"Oh. I'm sorry, was just tryin' to call my friend. Everyone just left me here and I don't even know where _here_is. Pretty sure I'm still in London. It was supposed to be a night out to make me feel better but now, god, I'm just too drunk to even work a phone properly and my mobile's about to die and I have no idea how to get home from wherever the hell I am." The girl was rambling like only the really drunk can do and it sounded like she was close to tears on top of that.

So much for a quiet night in.

"If you can figure out where you are, I can give you a lift," John offered.

"Really? You don't even know me and you'd do that?"

"Well I'm not gonna leave you to wander around London at this time of night with a dead mobile," he retorted. He wondered what kind of friends she'd been out with that had left her in that situation.

"Okay," she said. "Let me see if I can find some street signs so I can tell you where I am."

A few moments later she rattled off the intersection she was at. John recognized that crossroads as being about ten minutes from his flat.

"Okay, find somewhere out of the way to wait and I'll be there in ten. I'll be in a blue car and my name's John. Don't go with anyone else."

"I'm not an idiot, you know. I might be drunk and blonde, but I'm not an idiot."

"Never said you were. What's your name, by the way? Just so I don't try to pick up the wrong drunk blonde at that corner."

She let out a weak chuckle, "Rose. My name's Rose."

"Alright, Rose, I'll be there in ten. I'm walking out the door of my flat now." John grabbed his leather jacket from the hook by the door, shoved his feet in his boots and started walking to his car.

"Rose, are you still there?"

"Yeah, still here. Not going anywhere until there's a blue car with someone named John who has a northern accent shows up," she answered petulantly.

John felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. She was a feisty one, this Rose. "Good, I want you to stay on the line until your mobile dies."

"It's not going to last another ten minutes. 'M surprised it's lasted this long. Didn't think I was going to be able to get a call out to Ja-"

John cursed as the line went dead just as he got into his car.

He ignored multiple traffic regulations as he tried to get to the corner where Rose was as fast as he could. He knew all too well the dangers that lurked in London's shadows.

When he finally reached his destination, he screeched to a stop and started looking around, searching for the unknown blonde.

_There_.

Huddled in a doorway, using it as support there was a blonde in a dress that was entirely too short for this cold March and heels that looked impossible to stand in, much less walk.

John put his car in park and hopped out, making his way over to her.

He stopped about six feet from her, taking in her suspicious gaze. "Rose? It's me, John."

She nodded and tried to take a step forward but she stumbled. John barely caught her before she hit the pavement.

"'M sorry," she mumbled. "Not usually like this."

She looked up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time. John was first struck by their color, eyes the same color as the whiskey he had in the cabinet at home, and then by the fact that there were dried tear tracks on her face. His hands flexed spasmodically on her upper arms where he'd caught her.

"C'mon, let's get you home. Things will look better in the morning."

She let him steer her towards his car and bundle her inside before slipping in himself.

"Where to, Rose?" He asked, turning the key to start the car.

"Umm, shit, I just moved. The address is ummm," she looked over at him panicked. "I can't remember my address."

"You can crash at my place, there's plenty of room," he said after a moments pause. Better his place where he knew she was safe than her potentially remembering the wrong address somewhere.

"Thank you," she murmured as he started driving. "Most people would've just hung up on me."

"I'm not most people," he answered with a quick smile at her.

The remainder of the drive passed in silence. When they made it back to his building, he helped her out of the car and let her lean on him all the way up to his flat.

As soon as they were inside, John let go of her to lock the door behind them and shrugged off his jacket to hang it up. When he turned back around, he was blindsided by the blonde he'd brought home.

She had been waiting for him to turn and as soon as he did, her arms were around his neck and she was pressing her lips to his.

He froze and then immediately started extricating himself as gently as possible. John put his hands on her shoulders as he took a step back from her. "Rose, this isn't why I brought you back here. I'm not expecting anything. Just want to make sure you're safe tonight."

It wasn't that he didn't find her attractive. On the contrary, she was molten hot in her little black dress with those big brown eyes and tempting mouth. But she was drunk and there was no way in hell he was going to consider any decision she made at this point an informed one.

To his surprise tears started to fill her eyes. She looked away, not able to meet his gaze any more. "I know but you're so nice and bloody gorgeous-" she sent him a glare through her tears when he snorted at that. "You are. And I just want to stop _feeling _for a little bit. This whole year has been shit and I'm so tired of it and obviously the alcohol route didn't work…"

John stared at her as she trailed off, sniffing as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. "Sex with a stranger isn't going to help. Believe me, I've been down that road and I promise it doesn't help."

"What does help?"

"Time, work, friends. It works differently for everyone, I think."

"Then how do you know sex isn't going to help me?" She asked, stubborn to the core.

"Rose, you're extremely drunk. I'm not going to take advantage of you. How old are you anyways?"

She bristled at the question. "I'll be 21 next month.'

He sighed. "I'm almost twice your age. That's enough reason, right there."

"Is not," she countered, starting to sway on her feet.

John noticed. "Come on, let's get you to bed before you fall over."

She leered at him.

"Not like that, I will not be joining you," he said, tone brooking no argument.

With only a few token protests on her part, he convinced her to change into a t-shirt and a pair of athletic shorts without his help, poured a glass of water accompanied by a couple paracetamol down her throat and tucked her into his bed.

She was practically asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. John brushed her hair back from her face, took a deep breath and walked out of the room to make up the couch as his bed for the night.

His thoughts drifted back to the blonde asleep in his bed. There was no telling what Rose would remember and how she would react to whatever she did.

The morning was going to be extremely interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

Woo, the morning after! So I reached another stopping point and I know these are short chapters but that's just how it's working out. There's definitely going to be at least one more part. Maybe (probably) two more depending on how things go. Also this took a different direction that I originally planned so I hope y'all still like it!

* * *

John jolted awake when he heard someone's feet hit the floor in another room. It took a second for him to remember exactly why he was sleeping on the couch and who was in his bedroom.

With a muted groan he rolled off the couch and tried to work out the kinks that a night away from his mattress had caused. Still rolling his shoulders, he padded into the kitchen to put the kettle on. He had a feeling both he and Rose would be needing the caffeine and comfort of tea this morning.

He turned, mug in hand, when he heard his guest walking towards him.

She looked at him and groaned, putting a hand to her head. "I was really kinda hoping that I'd just dreamt all of last night. Or at least most of it. Is it possible to die of embarrassment?"

Rose plopped down in one of his kitchen chairs and promptly hid her face in her hands.

"I take it you remember everything then? Wasn't sure you would considering how drunk you were."

"Unfortunately I usually remember every embarrassing thing I do even when completely sloshed."

She still hadn't actually looked him in the eye yet since she'd walked out, still dressed in the ridiculously oversized t-shirt he'd given her the night before. The shorts were a better fit since they had a drawstring but she was still drowning in his clothes.

"Kettle's hot if you want tea," he said when the silence lasted a couple seconds too long.

"God yes. I've got a killer headache and tea would help enormously."

She finally lifted her head and he got a good look at his guest. Rose's face was pale and there were dark circles under her eyes. She looked miserable and like she was trying to hide it. Based on everything he'd observed last night, he would bet his leather jacket that it was not just because of the hangover.

He went through the motions of making tea, making it the way she liked it once he'd determined what that was and setting it down in front of her.

She shot him a grateful look, took a sip of her tea. As she cradled the mug in her hands and tucked her legs beneath her on the chair, the corners of her mouth quirked up. "You know, I don't regret trying to kiss you last night. Probably would have done it sober."

John choked on his tea, tips of his ears turning pink. He needed to change the subject and fast. Sober, hungover Rose was just as attractive as the drunk, dolled up version from last night. She was still much too young for him though, no matter what she seemed to think.

"Since you're obviously capable of talking about things that happened last night, I have some questions."

He almost wished he had kept his mouth shut as he watched the amusement slide off Rose's face. Her lips pressed into a thin line, something akin to fear flashing in her eyes. He glanced down to see her grip tightened around her mug, knuckles going white.

"Alright, ask away," she finally replied, shaky bravado reasserting itself.

John took a sip of his tea, swallowed slowly. "How did you end up alone in the middle of London at 2 am with a dying mobile?"

"Told ya, didn't I? I went out with some friends and they left without me," she said stiffly, not meeting his eyes.

John had always been good at questioning people, getting the answers he needed. Rose was either lying or holding back information. He was leaning towards the latter option but his line of work had taught him never to rule anything out prematurely.

"What kind of friends leave someone behind at a club?" He pushed, voice as calm as if they were discussing the weather.

That pushed Rose over the edge. "What do you want to know? That this was the first time in about a year that I'd even seen these friends? That my so-called friends forgot I existed about fifteen minutes after we got to the club and didn't bother looking for me again? That I was attempting to drink any recollection of the last year even though I knew it wouldn't work because I can't ever bloody forget anythin'?" Rose's eyes were doing their best to burn a hole in John, anger masking the fear from earlier.

"Do you want to know that I tried to call someone I've only known a couple of weeks to pick me up when I started panicking because he's literally the only person who might possibly give a shit if I got home okay? What could you possibly do with all the information about my bloody awful night and life?" Rose was shaking and near tears when she came to the end of her rant. John had the distinct impression that if she wasn't extremely hungover she would have been pacing his kitchen at this point.

"Rose," he started after a few beats of silence. John reached out and laid his hand over hers which was curled into a fist on the tabletop. "I'm not planning on doing anything with the information. You just seemed to be in trouble last night. Depending on a stranger to get you out of a dangerous situation isn't ideal and I wanted to see if I could do anything to help."

Rose pulled her hand away from his. "You have some savior complex, don't you? Coming to pick up a drunk girl you don't know in the middle of the night, trying to meddle in my life…well I don't need you. I don't need anyone. I can handle myself, John. I don't need some bloke in shining armor or leather or whatever charging in an' trying to save me."

John blinked at her, trying to figure out what to say in his own defense.

The blonde took the opportunity to continue. "An' who do you think you are anyways? Really, who picks up drunk strangers and then doesn't expect anything in return?"

John let out a sigh and dragged a hand over his face. "Helping people is what I do, alright? I know what's lurking in the shadows of this city. I wasn't going to leave you stranded and in a dangerous situation just because I had no clue who you were."

"Yeah well I know what's lurking in the shadows too. I've seen them, I've been there. Most people don't care if someone gets swallowed up by the shadows." Rose had quieted. She sounded more contemplative than argumentative now.

John was having the hardest time getting a consistent read on her. "Told you last night, I'm not most people."

"No, you're not." She gazed at him for a moment, staring hard like she was trying to memorize him, trying to stare into his soul somehow. Abruptly all the fight seemed to drain out of her, the tension in her shoulders and face seeped away as let out a sigh and broke eye contact.

Rose drained the last of her tea. "I should probably go," she said quietly.

"I can drive you back to yours," John offered, strangely unwilling to just let her walk out his door.

"I think you've done enough," she replied with a small smile. "Went above and beyond really and I don't want to impose any longer." Rose gestured back towards his bedroom. "Let me just go get my clothes and I'll be out of your hair."

He watched her walk away, heard the door close. John leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples.

She was right—he had no business prying into her life like he was. But there was just something about her that made him want to help, made him want to know what the secrets were that she was hiding and why she was hiding them. It went far beyond his natural instinct to help, was more than just a physical attraction would warrant.

He honestly didn't know what to do. Every instinct was screaming at him that she needed assistance but she was adamant that she could take care of herself, had made herself abundantly clear on that point. There was no way she would let him help with whatever her trouble was if she wouldn't even let him drive her home.

John let out a long exhale. This is what happened when he attempted to take a night off. He got an even bigger puzzle and possible problem dropped right in his lap.

He was taking his last sip of tea when Rose walked back into his line of sight in the dress she had been wearing last night, ridiculous heels dangling from her fingers.

He almost choked on that sip of tea.

"You're not walking anywhere dressed like that," he finally managed to get out, fighting the urge to let his eyes wander down to the vicinity of her legs.

Rose rolled her eyes. "You're not my father. Even if you were, you wouldn't get a say."

"Not what I meant. It's still freezing outside and you'll probably get hypothermia before you get back to your flat," he paused to see if she had a counter for that one. He wasn't going to accept one, seeing as she didn't have a coat but it would be fun to see her try.

She stayed silent, pressing her lips together in a clear sign that she did not want to admit that he was right.

"Please let me drive you back to your place."

"You're not gonna take no for an answer and I'm not really interested in freezing to death so alright."

John quickly grabbed his jacket and shrugged into it before putting on his boots. "Let's go, then."

They didn't talk on the way to Rose's building except for Rose giving him the address and confirming that he knew where it was. She just sat there, staring out the window, and he let her.

When he pulled up the building she finally looked over at him, the shields in her brown eyes coming down just the tiniest bit, giving him a glimpse at the turmoil of emotions in them. "Thanks, John. For everything. Last night could have been a disaster but you saved me and just… thanks. You're a good man."

With that, she opened the door and stepped out, not giving him a chance to respond. He watched as she scurried into the building, throwing him one last glance over her shoulder as she pushed the door open.

A good man. It had been a long time since anyone had called him that. John shook his head as he pulled away from the curb and back into traffic. He had a distinct feeling that this would not be the last time he saw Rose.


	3. Chapter 3

Okay so I keep saying one more chapter but I THINK THERE'S ONLY ONE MORE CHAPTER AFTER THIS ONE. (maybe two *shrugs*) Also this chapter is almost as long as the first two combined, so consider it a bonus for my lack of updates! :)

This chapter has Jack and backstory and _plot_ (weird right?). **it also carries a warning for domestic abuse as there is a discussion about it in relation to one of the characters having been abused.**

* * *

Since he was already halfway there after dropping Rose off, John decided to swing by his office. He technically did not have to work today but he would probably drive himself barmy by noon if he didn't have something to do other than worry at the mystery Rose presented. Curiosity was his constant companion and, normally, it served him well. This time, it was just being a bitch. For God's sake, he didn't even know the woman's last name! It was really none of his business why a young, presumably social, woman who was obviously a native Londoner felt like there was no one in the city she could call in a crisis. The haunted, hunted look in her eyes and the ill-concealed panic when he wanted to ask her a few questions was not any of his concern either.

He just really wanted it to be his concern, his business.

John swung into a parking spot outside a completely nondescript office building and indulged in slamming the car door before taking a deep breath to calm down. He had work to do and it didn't involve Rose and he couldn't afford to be distracted.

He was almost to the building when his mobile started vibrating in his pocket. John stopped to dig it out of the pocket of his jeans, muttering curses as he did.

The curses only got louder when he saw "Captain" emblazoned on the screen.

"What do you want?" John snapped as he took the call.

"Whoa, what's got you all hot and bothered, Doc?" He could practically hear the smirk the Captain was giving him over the phone.

"None of your business. None of my business actually." John admitted, rubbing his temples as he stepped into the building's lift. "And I thought I told you to stop calling me 'Doc.'"

"You did," the Captain said cheerfully. "I respectfully chose to ignore that suggestion."

"Wasn't a suggestion." John jammed the key into his office door and stomped in. He really needed to calm down but the Captain hadn't explained why he was calling yet and Rose was still on his mind and he just needed time by himself so he could distract himself with work.

"Sure it was," the velvety smooth voice replied. "Just a very commanding one. What can I say, I'm waiting to see if you punish me."

John was pretty sure it was too early in the day to start drinking but at this point he was considering it. "Why the hell did you call me?"

"Are you going to be in your office at any point today?" The Captain snapped straight to business, all flirtation gone from his voice.

"Just walked in while we've been talking."

"Great, I have a case that's being transferred over to you. I'm dropping it by personally."

"I have enough cases, Captain. Plus I've been cleaning up the mess that Adam kid made this week. And dealing with everyone else's shit. I don't need you fobbing off a case on me too."

"You can trade me if you want but I've been ordered to give up the case and I need it to be in good hands. I'll tell you the rest of it when I get to your office. It'll be about thirty minutes. See ya!"

John stared down at the phone in his hand. More mystery. Fan-bloody-tastic.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

John spent the thirty minutes he had before the Captain showed up halfheartedly finishing up a case report from a week prior. He was worried about whatever the other man was bringing him.

He had told Rose that his job was helping people and as far as he was concerned, it was the truth. Not everyone saw it that way though. He was, for the lack of a better word, a fixer. When law enforcement or the government had a problem that they couldn't handle, they passed it along to the company to take care of it. John, and others like him, did their own investigation and then took care of whatever the problem was in whatever manner was necessary.

Their paycheques came from some hidden section of government budget. It only came to them after being run through half a dozen shell companies first but the government was paying them for their work. They weren't technically a government agency, though. The company operated in deeper shadows than the intelligence agencies and outside of the bounds of law enforcement but they took orders from both of those governing forces. If any one of the agents or the company in general was brought to light it was understood that they would be disavowed in under a second—after all, the whole point of using John and the others was because going through legal, ethical channels was no longer an option.

His job meant John had blood on his hands, that he'd made decisions and judgments that he later regretted. It meant that despite his conviction that what he did was ultimately helping people, he'd stopped considering himself a good man a long time ago.

The Captain was one of the few people in the company, hell, in the whole business that John trusted. He was competent and efficient and while their styles often didn't match up, John could always count on him to get the job done and get it done right. Too many of their colleagues lacked any sort of moral compass. It was about the mystery and the intrigue and blood for most of them, not about helping people. It's why John, known to everyone within the company as the Doctor, was always cleaning up their messes, finishing their cases so that innocent people wouldn't be hurt.

Something must have gone very wrong, or was about to go very wrong, if the Captain was enlisting the Doctor's help.

John was going through possible scenarios that could have led to the Captain calling him when there was a knock at the door.

Without waiting for an acknowledgement from inside the office, the Captain walked in, broad smile on his face. "Hello Doc, fancy seeing you here."

John just rolled his eyes and gestured to the chairs in front of his desk as he stood to take one of them as well. The Captain was a character, all charm and flirtation, but John liked to consider him an unlikely friend despite not knowing his real name or ever seeing him outside of work related gigs.

"What do have for me? Have to say I'm surprised that you're letting someone kick you off a case."

"It's not so much as 'let' as much as someone was going to pry it from my cold, dead hands if I didn't give it up," he answered, completely serious. "I don't know who wants me to back off but I was going to bring you in on this soon anyways and if I have to give it up, I need to know that it's in good hands."

"Do you know why they're trying to get you off this case?"

"Well the official reason I've heard is that I'm too 'personally involved' but that's pretty much bullshit. They don't care if we get involved as long as we get the job done. I think someone is trying to bury the case and they know I won't just let it slip through the cracks like others will."

"Well, you always did have a problem with doing what you're told," John said, smirking a bit as he tried to lighten the Captain's mood.

"You're one to talk!"

John gave a little shrug, admitting nothing. "Okay, what the hell have you gotten yourself into? Walk me through it."

The Captain pulled a thick folder out of his bag and slid it over to John.

"Seemed like a small-time case when I first picked it up. Mid-level drug dealer who suddenly had way more product and way more muscle than he should have. Cops wanted him gone but couldn't get anything solid on him or where his new power was coming from," the Captain started.

"Seems straightforward enough," John commented, flipping the folder open to see the information just given to him verbally. Jimmy Stone, drug dealer and general thug who had risen to head thug in an East London neighborhood with no explanation. "What complicated it?"

"He had a girlfriend."

John groaned, "Don't tell me the problems started because you slept with the target's girlfriend."

"Jeez Doctor, I don't sleep with everyone and I'm not that unprofessional that I would compromise a case just to get my rocks off. I can do that safely whenever I want." The Captain snapped.

"Sorry. I know that. Guess I've been listening to too much gossip. Had to work with Julie or whatever her name is this week for a few days last week and she's still…" John paused, "upset with you."

The Captain winced. "Yeah, that one can hold a grudge."

"Okay, so you didn't sleep with the girlfriend, so why is she the complication?"

"I figured she was my ticket in. Thought she would have some basic info on what her boyfriend was up to and would be willing to part with it with a bit of persuasion."

"So you were going to sleep with the girlfriend," John said flatly.

"Only if she didn't want money," the Captain protested. "I was going to try money and just verbal persuasion first!"

John made a go ahead gesture with his hand for the Captain to continue his briefing.

"Well, I let myself into the shithole they were using as a flat to do some recon and the girl was there curled up in a corner like she was hoping if she made herself small enough, she wouldn't be noticed." The Captain looked up, his eyes sparking with suppressed anger. "He'd apparently just gotten through beating the shit out of her before he left for the night. It was bad, Doc. Didn't stop the little firecracker from trying to yell at me once she realized I was a stranger and not the prick that had hit her."

The Captain chuckled humorlessly. "Kept telling me that she didn't need anyone to save her even though she could barely get to her feet because the bastard had fractured a couple ribs. Her medical file is somewhere in the folder. Apparently she'd been in A&amp;E a couple of times over the last year but refused to press charges. Nothing as serious as the fractured ribs, according to the file. Went in for stiches for a gash on her arm and the nurse was suspicious of a few bruises. The second time she had a broken nose and a few lacerations and a shitload of bruises but the nurse said she claimed she'd gotten into a fight and the other guy looked pretty rough too. Had bruised knuckles to prove she got in a few punches of her own and they had to let it go."

"I take it you got her away from there?"

"Yeah. And she continued to tell me that she didn't need help the entire way to the hospital and while I found her a flat and got her set up with her own life away from Jimmy Stone. And she did need the help. Her mum had died right before she moved in with Jimmy and she'd lost the council flat they'd shared. No other family and Stone had cut her off from her friends once she was living with him.

"I did get some information from her though, which is why I was planning on bringing you in on this case. Apparently Jimmy's rise to power coincided with his recent acquaintance with someone named Harry Saxon."

John sucked in a sharp breath. "The Master. He hasn't surfaced for a while."

"Yeah, I know. And I know you're the expert on him, have been compiling a case on him in case he shows up again and someone finally has the balls to put a target on his back. That's one of the reasons why I wanted to give this case to you. I knew you'd be able to figure out what the Master wants with a loser like Stone if you had the info."

"Got other reasons too?" The Doctor teased halfheartedly as he started flipping through the information the Captain had compiled in the folder.

"Needed to make sure someone I trust was going to be looking after Rose since I don't want to risk her if someone decides to follow me to make sure I've dropped the case."

John froze as his friend uttered the name that had been circling his brain since last night right as he came to the file the Captain had put together on the girl he was protecting.

"Rose," he choked out, staring at the picture of the blonde who'd been in his flat the night before that was attached to the file.

"You know her?" the Captain asked, posture stiffening as he went on alert.

"Didn't before last night," he muttered.

"Holy shit, did _you_ sleep with the girlfriend, Doctor?"

"No! She accidentally called me last night when she was really drunk, wrong number when she was trying to get a hold of…" he trailed off, blue eyes sharpening as he looked at the Captain. "Jack. You're Jack."

"This is way too weird," the Captain – _Jack_ – said. "But yeah, Captain Jack Harkness at your service."

"John Smith," the Doctor answered. "And yes, that's my real name."

Jack shut his mouth, having opened it to make a crack about his name.

"Also, I understand what you mean about her being extremely stubborn and refusing help. She made sure to let me know that too. I _knew_ there was something else going on with her than just trying to drink her problems away but she wouldn't tell me so I could help…" he trailed off.

"Yeah, she likes to think she can do everything herself. I've only known her for something like five weeks but I can tell you that she's stubborn as hell and possibly the most resilient person I've ever seen. I mean, she still has issues, can't get over everything right away, but I… I think she's in a better place than I expected her to be at this point." Jack paused for a moment. "And I'm gonna tell you this now, Doc. She's gotten to be important to me over these few weeks."

"Warning me off, Harkness?"

"Nope, just going to tell you to keep her safe."

"That I can do," John said with a chuckle. "But only if she'll let me near her to attempt any sort of protection, though."

"Any reason your encounter last night would put her off?" Jack was shamelessly fishing for details at this point.

"Nah. Don't think she'll be expecting to see me again though. I dropped her off at her building this morning and technically have her number from when she called me but I didn't even know her last name before I saw it in this file."

"She spent the night at your flat?" If Jack's eyebrows went any further up his forehead, they were going to end up merging with his hair.

"Rose was _very_ drunk and couldn't remember the address of her new building so I took her back to mine." John pinned his amused colleague with a look. "We slept in completely different rooms."

"Okay, okay, fine. I believe you!" Jack said, putting his hands up in a sign of surrender.

They were discussing the best way for Jack to stay involved in the case without anyone catching on when the Captain's phone started ringing.

"It's Rose," he said, puzzled. "She doesn't ever call unless there's something wrong."

"Answer your damn phone then, Harkness!" John snapped.

"Hey Rosie, what's up?" Jack said, trying to sound less worried than he was.

"Hi Jack. I don't want to sound paranoid but I've seen the same car drive past the building seven times in the last fifteen minutes." Rose's voice was a bit shaky.

"Okay, I'll be there in under ten. I'm bringing a colleague of mine, someone I trust, to help out."

"Just hurry, I have a bad feeling about this." She hung up immediately.

Jack relayed what she had told him to John and watched the blood drain out of his face before he grabbed his jacket and bolted towards the exit.

"Doctor! What the hell has you spooked?"

"I should have suspected," the older man snarled. "The Master does this sometimes when he thinks someone knows more than they should or if he's still trying to impress a new partner by cleaning up a problem they have."

"John, you're not making any sense."

"The Master isn't done with Jimmy Stone yet and he either thinks Rose knows something about his grander plan or is doing Jimmy a favor by getting her out of the picture as revenge for leaving. Either way, he's sent someone to kill Rose and we have to get there before they finish casing the place for entry or vantage points so stop talking and get in the damn car."

They'd made it to John's car and Jack barely managed to close the passenger door before John took off, once more racing across the city, hoping to get to Rose before the worst could happen.


	4. Chapter 4

So I should stop estimating how many more chapters there are going to be of this because it doesn't like cooperating with my estimates. Back to a shorter chapter again this time but...heyyy, there's probably going to be at least two more chapters after this (look at me still estimating). I have no self control.

* * *

John's blue car screeched into the car park next to Rose's building six minutes after Jack had hung up with her.

The Captain jumped out immediately and tore off towards the building, intent on reaching Rose as soon as possible. John started scouring the car park and nearby area for anyone suspicious and kept an eye on the road for passing cars.

Finally, Jack made it to the fourth floor where Rose's flat was located and pounded on the door.

"Rosie, it's me. Let me in."

He could hear hesitant footsteps coming closer to the door and the locks being disengaged before it swung open slowly to reveal the blonde. Rose was pale and shaking but was clutching a cricket bat like a lifeline.

"Are you okay?" Jack demanded as soon as he saw her.

Upon seeing Jack, she visibly sagged, grip on the bat loosening a bit. "Oh thank god," she said, gesturing for him to come inside before continuing on as she re-secured the locks and put the cricket bat down. "I'm fine. I'm probably overreacting but I was going to go crazy worrying here by myself and you said to call if I noticed anything strange, so I did."

"You did the right thing, Rose," Jack soothed.

She tugged on the hem of her shirt, averting her eyes. "Now that you're here it all seems silly…" she trailed off. "I just had a strange night last night and so was already on edge and then that car seemed so out of place."

"I'm glad you called, Rose. I just want you to be safe."

They stared at each other awkwardly for a moment, unsure of what to say or do next.

Jack was considering telling her that John was with him when she broke the silence. "Least I can do after making you come all the way over here is make you a cuppa."

Rose squeezed past Jack and into her tiny kitchen before he could say anything in response.

She'd already gotten two mugs down and turned the kettle on when she turned to face him again, puzzled look on her face. "Didn't you say something about bringing someone with you?"

Jack had another brief internal debate about whether or not to tell Rose who was with him, but decided against it. "Yeah, the Doctor is checking to make sure everything is secure outside before coming up. Should be about done. I came up first to make sure you were okay."

"Doing fine, still," Rose said with a forced smile as she got down another mug and started making the tea.

"You said you had a strange night last night? Anything I need to worry about?" Jack prodded, wanting to hear Rose's side of the story before John showed up while he had the chance. Plus it would get Rose's mind off the situation at hand.

"Nothing you need to worry about, I don't think. Had a bit too much to drink, well, a _lot_ too much to drink, really. Went out with some friends from back on the estate but they kinda ditched me and I ended up wandering around the streets near the club really drunk with a dying mobile and no coat."

"Jeez Rose, how the hell did you get home?"

She was blushing when she turned around to hand Jack his mug. "Umm, I actually tried to call you to pick me up but I apparently dialed wrong and got this John bloke instead. He was nice though and came and picked me up and took care of me when I couldn't remember my address."

"You let some random guy come pick you up and went home with him?"

"It was either that or stay on the streets for the night!" Rose retorted hotly. "Besides, he was a complete gentleman and I wasn't the easiest person to deal with while I was there." She paused. "Might've kissed him last night while I was drunk and shouted at him while hungover this morning."

Jack almost spat out his tea. "You kissed him? Oh my god, that is priceless!"

Rose frowned at him. "'S not funny, Jack. Besides, he didn't kiss me back and I'm mostly trying to forget it ever happened, even if he was gorgeous. Never gonna see him again anyways."

There was a knock at the door just as Jack opened his mouth to respond and he saw Rose stiffen at the noise.

"Just stay here and stay quiet. It's probably just the Doctor," he said quietly, moving towards the front door.

Rose could hear a muffled conversation as Jack presumably ascertained that it was indeed his partner at the door before the locks were undone once more and the door opened to admit another person.

"I think everything's secure. A car drove by right before I was about to head up. The driver made eye contact with me and then got the hell out of here like there were flames on his tail so I'm assuming he recognized me and knew there was protection in place for Rose."

Rose had frozen as the first words the still-unseen person filtered through to her. That accent, that _voice_ was very familiar. She'd heard it this morning and had assumed she'd never hear it again and there was no way in hell John could actually be in her apartment.

She put her tea down and stepped out of the kitchen so she could see the men. "What the hell are you doing here, John?"

John's eyes shot to meet Rose's. She was paler than she should be and looked incredibly pissed at him.

He switched to glaring at Jack. "You didn't tell her? Thought you would do that while I was outside."

"I was about to!" Jack protested.

"You _knew_?" Rose questioned, voice low and dangerous. "And you let me tell you about what happened last night and you already _knew_?"

"I just wanted to hear your side of the story, Rosie. I was really about to tell you that John and the Doctor were the same person when he knocked on the door."

"And what about you, John? Did you already know who I was when you picked me up last night?" Rose's jaw clenched as she waited for his answer. She should've known better than to trust a stranger.

"No! Jack showed up at my office this morning after I dropped you off because he's being forced to give up the case that you're a part of. It was only when he was walking me through the file I realized that you were part of his case."

He looked so earnest, blue eyes begging her to believe him and she desperately wanted to. Rose took a deep breath and walked back into the kitchen.

"How do you take your tea?" she called back to John. There was no point in trying to stay mad at the people who were trying to protect her.

"Two sugars, no milk." He wandered after her, for all the world looking like a kicked puppy despite the leather and the fact that whoever was after her had apparently taken off at the sight of him. "Does this mean you believe me?"

She smiled a tiny bit as she handed him his tea. Apparently, he was very concerned with how she viewed him. That was definitely interesting. "Think I do. Told you you're a good man and I believe that and so I believe you. Plus, you did say that your job was helping people and I think this definitely qualifies."

"Well then, Rose Tyler, let's all figure out the best way to help you and keep you safe," John said, confidence filling his face again as he smiled down at her.

"Just can't keep from meddlin' can you?" Rose teased, stepping closer to him in the small space. Drunk or sober, he just drew her in somehow.

"Me? Never." John shot back, grinning down at her.

Jack stuck his head into the kitchen and fought back a grin as the two of them jumped apart when he started talking. "If you two are done being adorable, and I do hate to break this up, we should probably move this somewhere else in case the guy in the car comes back with friends who aren't scared of the Doctor."

"Probably a good plan. I'd say we could go back to my office but the Master probably knows by now that I'm involved so that may not be the best plan," John mused aloud, leaning back against the countertop.

"What is with all of you and the fancy names? 'The Captain' and 'The Doctor' and 'The Master?' I mean, that all seems a bit grand for codenames. Aren't you shadowy people supposed to be inconspicuous?" Rose asked, making a face.

John was watching Rose carefully before she asked her question. She'd lost some of the color in her cheeks when Jack had mentioned people coming back to take them on and she wasn't fighting them about needing help. All of that pointed to her barely holding it together and if asking off-the-wall questions was going to help her cope, he would try to answer anything she could throw at him.

"Well, if we do our jobs right then no one even knows our codenames," John answered, ignoring Jack's guffaws behind him.

The same impulse to help her that John had felt this morning was stronger than ever now that he had a more solid grasp on the situation she was in. Hopefully, he'd be able to get Rose completely out of danger and take down the Master once and for all at the same time.

"Let's go to your place, Captain," John suggested.

"Thought you'd never ask," Jack purred. "Been angling for that for ages."

John and Rose both rolled their eyes, familiar with Jack's compulsive flirting.

"They shouldn't have eyes there, especially if they think I've taken over the case now," the Doctor explained.

"Sounds good to me," Jack agreed before turning towards the other person in the room. "Rose, why don't you pack an overnight bag with essentials, just in case."

Rose nodded and slid past the men to get to her bedroom, head spinning. She was so tired of running from her problems, of letting people fight her battles for her. That's not who she was but right now, in the face of physical danger, it seemed like all she could do.

She threw some clothes and her toiletries into a bag, ignoring the lowered voices in the other room that were probably plotting something. She would let them take her somewhere safe but then she was putting her foot down.

Rose needed to know what was going on and what she could do to help. It was time to get her life back. Jack had helped her get out from under the influence of Jimmy Stone and his lot and, even if Jack and John weren't looking to hurt her like Jimmy had, she was not going to let them control her either.

Mind made up, Rose walked back into the kitchen with her chin up, announcing that she was ready to go if they were.

She was ready to face whatever Jimmy and this Master bloke could throw at her and her boys.


	5. Chapter 5

what's this? an update only six days after the previous one? it's a Christmas miracle in April! Lots of exposition in the chapter, action should pick up next chapter!

* * *

Rose decided to wait until they made it to Jack's place to start asking questions. They took a circuitous route there to ensure that no one was following them which turned what was normally a twenty minute drive without traffic into a forty-five minute journey.

John and Jack tried to keep up a steady commentary about unimportant topics and Rose assumed they were trying to keep her mind off the fact that someone had been sent to probably kill her less than an hour ago. She stayed mostly quiet in the backseat, mulling over everything that had happened. She just couldn't figure out what she might know that they would want to kill her for.

It was only the car finally coming to a stop that pulled her out of her own head. Jack and John were bickering good-naturedly over something or another, she was fairly sure it was about someone they worked with but wasn't completely certain. A small smile flitted over her face at their antics. They were definitely something else, these two men that had unexpectedly dropped into her life.

John stole a glance at their passenger in the rearview mirror as he shifted into park. Rose had been quiet the whole drive and he was a bit worried about her. She'd regained some of her color since they'd left her flat but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with her and that she wasn't as okay as she was trying to seem.

They all filed inside, glancing around to make sure no one was watching. Jack ushered everyone into the sitting room and was opening his mouth to see if anyone wanted tea or anything when Rose turned to face them, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Now that we're somewhere safe, you two have a lot of explaining to do."

Both men froze, sending confused looks at her.

Rose just continued on. "You keep giving me these half-pieces of information and no context and I need to know what's going on." She shot a silencing glare at Jack who looked like he was going to protest. "I'm the one in danger and the one who was in the middle of all this shit when I was with Jimmy. I've met all the players and if you get me in the loop maybe I can help. Maybe if I knew what was actually going on, I could do something to help you make sure these people get what they deserve. Someone was sent to kill me and I don't know why but I deserve to." She paused, making eye contact with both of her shell-shocked protectors. "This is my life and I need to take it back. I'm not just gonna sit back and let you two make decisions for me."

"Rose, we have to keep you safe and that may mean making some decisions without your input," John said carefully. He had sensed something was off in the car but he had not been expecting an explosion like this. It reminded him of when she'd been pushed too far earlier this morning at his place and ended up ranting at him.

It had been a long day for all of them and there more daylight to burn and a whole hell of a lot to do.

Rose waved off his words with flourish of her hand as she sunk down into one of the armchairs. "I get that. You two are the experts there and I'm going to have to trust you both with that but I emneed /emto know what's going on because, right now, I have no idea and that's not okay."

Jack sat down heavily on the sofa as John took the other armchair directly across from Rose.

"Where do you want to start?" The Captain asked. He was well aware that there was no arguing with Rose when she'd made up her mind like this and, really, there was no harm in telling her the details of the case. She was right when she said she prove to be helpful.

"Why were you handing off the case, and me, I guess, to John?"

"I was being forced off the case. Don't know why or by who yet, but there was pressure to hand it off to another agent so I went to John. I suspect whoever it was hoped I would give it to someone who was more inclined to let it just slip through the cracks and let it be the simple case that it looked like on the surface instead of the complicated spider web it is." Jack paused for a moment, gesturing at John. "Plus, I was about to bring the Doctor in on it anyways since I'd discovered the Master was involved."

"And who is this 'Master' bloke anyways and what does he have to do with Jimmy or me?"

John took that one after throwing a glance at Jack. "He's the big spider at the center of the web. Criminal mastermind of sorts who has his fingers in just about every criminal enterprise you could think of and some that you've probably never heard of. Owns police officers and politicians and thinks he's invincible."

"Okay, that's what he does answered. Still haven't told me who he actually is or why he wants me dead," Rose said. She didn't think he was purposely evading the question but there was no way she was going to let him get away with it regardless.

"You may know him as Harry Saxon," John revealed, watching her face closely for signs of recognition. The file Jack had put together said Rose had told him that someone by that name had been hanging around Jimmy but he wanted confirmation for himself.

Rose sucked in a breath, paling a bit. "Yeah, met that bastard a few times. Always felt slimy and skeezy to me even though Jimmy and them practically kissed the ground he walked on because he dressed nice and had money. Tried to avoid him whenever I could because he gave me the creeps and Jimmy-" Rose swallowed and broke eye contact, "Jimmy always got real mean after Saxon visited. Guess he wanted to feel powerful or something."

John clenched his fist, trying not to let on how much he wanted to plow it into the face of Jimmy or Saxon or whoever he could get his hands on. Rose didn't need his anger, she needed answers and she needed closure.

"Rose, when I interviewed you before, you said that Saxon started showing up at the same time Jimmy started gaining actual power in the neighborhood. Is that right?" Jack asked, trying to steer Rose away from bad memories and the Doctor away from what looked like homicidal urges.

She let out a long breath, closing her eyes. "Yeah, yeah that's right. Didn't think anything of it at the time, not until you asked if anything unusual had happened."

She thought for a moment, worrying at her bottom lip before shooting a question at John. "So why was Jack planning on bringing you in on the case just because Saxon was involved? You have a history with him or something?"

"Or something, yeah. He pulled one over on me years ago when he was just getting started, made me believe he was coming over to our side and then double-crossed me. I've been trying to take him down ever since, compiling files and evidence against him." John answered, voice hard.

"So why is he still out there? From everything I can tell you get what you want when you want it."

"I can't go after him until I get official sanction from the company. As soon as someone puts a target on that fucker's back, he's mine."

"That why whoever was after me took off when they saw you?" Rose asked, curiosity taking over.

"Might have a bit of a reputation among Saxon's men," the Doctor admitted.

"That's supposed to sound impressive?" Rose teased, smiling for the first time since they'd entered Jack's flat.

"Sor' of," John shot back with a grin.

Jack watched the two of them interact with an indulgent grin. They seemed to periodically forget that he was in the room but he really didn't mind. He never would have called these two getting along but here they were and no one could miss the chemistry sizzling between them. He'd bet his favorite coat that if Rose kissed John now, he would not hesitate to respond.

"What I don't get though, is why would Saxon send someone to kill me? I don't know anything about him."

"It's something the Master does," John explained. "He often sends hitmen out to tie up loose ends or just as a favor to someone who he's doing business with."

"Jimmy's probably pissed that I disappeared but not enough to try and get someone to kill me. He didn't care that much, probably has another girl by now," Rose argued. "It wouldn't earn the Master any points with Jimmy to have me killed."

"Alright, then the Master acted alone. He must think you know something since Jack stashed you somewhere where it was probably fairly difficult to track you down," John mused.

"But I don't! I don't even know what he wanted with Jimmy. He wasn't anyone important and I was even less than that."

"When the case originally came to me, it was because there was concern as to why a normal, mid-range drug dealer suddenly had control of an entire neighborhood and more resources and connections than he could have gotten on his own. I was supposed to find out where the influence was coming from and cut it out," Jack put in.

John's head whipped towards his colleague. "Did they give you explicit permission to take out whoever was backing Stone?"

Jack's eyes widened. "Yeah, yeah they did. Holy shit, Doctor. This is why they wanted me off the case. I'd just tied it to the Master and they wanted someone to have the case that wouldn't make that connection or wouldn't pursue it!"

"We've got the bastard," John growled.

"That's great and all but we still don't know why he wants me dead," Rose pointed out. "And if you're gonna take him out based on this case with Jimmy and me, don't you need to tie him to everything better?"

"She's right, Doc," Jack chimed in. "If we take him down, we take him down right and that means getting all the information on this case in order and tying him to every aspect, including the hit on Rose. And you know they're watching your office by now, so you can't go back for your other files."

John put his head in his hand, rubbing at his temples. "You're both right. We have to find the connections between Saxon and this case." He looked up; making eye contact with each of them in turn before focusing on Rose, blue eyes blazing. "We're going to uncover everything and find out why he wants you dead and then we're getting him and Jimmy off the streets."

Rose blinked at his sudden intensity. She'd sensed it lurking underneath the surface, but this was the first time she had actually seen it full force and she could hear his promise that she would be safe underpinning every word he spoke, knew that he meant it.

"That supposed to sound impressive," she replied again, sticking her tongue between her teeth.

John laughed, storm leaving his eyes and tension draining out of the lines of his body. "Sor' of."

Rose was still watching him, teasing smile in place, but her eyes belied her playfulness. They were full of golden fire, every bit as intense and determined and a bit wild as his own had been moments before.

"Good. Let's take this bastard down," Rose spat.

John's smile took on a feral edge, as he took her in.

The Master thought Rose was a sheep, easily controlled and easily killed, but he had fallen for the disguise she'd worn out of necessity. He would have no idea what hit him when he came face to face with the wolf Rose Tyler really was that had emerged from the sheepskin.

No, between him and Jack and Rose, the Master wouldn't stand a chance.


	6. Chapter 6

I know I keep saying I should stop attempting to estimate how long this is going to be but I think two more chapters will do it! (and for those of you waiting on a Watch it Burn update...as soon as I get this posted I'm going to go start working on the next chapter)

* * *

The three spent the rest of the afternoon trying to make connections. John and Jack were writing out everything they could remember from their files on the Master while Rose worked on making a list of anyone else she might have seen Saxon with and other people he had sent round to Jimmy's. Once she had finished with that, she moved onto trying to remember what Jimmy and Saxon had talked about when they were together.

By the time the sun started its descent, Rose was extremely frustrated. As far as she could tell they had made no progress. There was still no concrete evidence that the Master had issued a hit on her, there was nothing tying him to Jimmy other than Rose's testimony. They had _nothing_ and she couldn't take it anymore.

She stood abruptly, startling both of the men who were still engrossed in trying to recall information and find connections. "'M gonna make a cuppa," she said, not waiting for an answer from either of them before stalking towards the kitchen.

John and Jack exchanged a glance and without saying a word, Jack got up to follow her to his kitchen. He watched as Rose jerkily set the kettle to boiling and pulled three mugs out of the cupboard. She was dropping teabags into the mugs when one of her movements sent one of the mugs sailing off the counter.

She just stared at the ceramic shards for a moment, ignoring the kettle on the stove that was shrieking at her. Jack moved to take it off the heat and watched his friend carefully as she continued to stare at the shattered mug.

All at once she crumpled, sinking to the floor and letting the tears she'd been holding back flow freely. "I'm so sorry, Jack. I didn't mean to break it, I'll replace it as soon as I can. I didn't mean to break it, I promise."

Jack immediately sat down next to her and put his arms around her. "Shh, it's okay, sweetheart. It's just a mug. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I can't do anythin' right today," she choked out. "I broke your mug, I can't remember anythin' helpful about Saxon or Jimmy. I've yelled at both you and John and you're just trying to help me. Someone tried to _kill _me and I don't even know _why_. We don't have anything to take down Saxon with and I'm just making everything worse."

Jack tightened his hold on her, unsure of what to say. "You're not making anything worse, Rosie. You're helping us help you. We'll get Saxon and Jimmy and we'll take them down. It just might take more than a day, even if today has felt like an eternity."

"Jack's right." John's voice startled both of them and they looked up to see him standing in the doorway. "Today's been a long day, especially for you. Why don't we all try to get some rest and start again tomorrow? It might look like we have nothing but I have a feeling we have exactly what we need, we just can't see it yet."

Rose gave John a shaky smile. "Alright. I'll just clean this up and then find out if Jack's guest room is any good."

"I'll clean up," John volunteered. "Jack can get the guest room set up while you get ready for bed. Just let us take care of everything, Rose. Tomorrow you can go back to yellin' at us and plotting the Master's painful downfall, just try and get some rest first."

"You're not gonna take no for an answer, are you?" she queried.

"Nope," he answered cheerfully, smiling softly. "Now get to bed, I'll clean this up."

Jack helped Rose to her feet and set off to find sheets to put on the bed, leaving John and Rose in the kitchen. She started to follow Jack but John reached out and put a hand on her arm, stopping her.

"None of this is your fault, Rose," he said softly, eyes boring into hers, radiating sincerity.

Rose's mouth quirked up in a sardonic half smile. "Not sure if I believe that yet, but thank you, John." She placed her hand over his and he watched as she seemed to consider various courses of actions in a split second.

She rose up on her toes and brushed a soft kiss onto his cheek before walking past him to find Jack.

John shook his head, trying to clear it as he poked around in Jack's cupboards for cleaning supplies. He wasn't going to tell Rose that she was right about them going nowhere fast with their investigation, but it was true. All of his research on the Master was useless when it came to tying him to Stone and Rose and he had to at least tie him to Stone's inexplicable rise to power in order to take him out by the book.

He swept up the ceramic shards slowly. There were so many things to figure out and they likely had a small window of opportunity to put everything together. It wouldn't be long before the Master figured out they were holed up at Jack's place and John's own reputation among the Master's henchmen wouldn't keep most of them at bay.

Maybe he'd told Rose the truth, he thought as he binned the remains of Jack's mug. Maybe they did have all the pieces they needed and just had not managed to put them together yet. Determined look on his face, the Doctor returned to his files, letting the muffled sounds of Rose and Jack talking in the other room drop away from his awareness and focusing completely on all the puzzle pieces, the individual threads of the spider web woven by the Master, in the hope of finding the pattern, the overall structure. Hopefully he could catch the bastard in his own web.

Fifteen minutes later, Jack reappeared. "I think I finally got her to settle down enough to be able to sleep a bit. She was a mess, Doc. Probably the worst that I've seen her since the first few days after I met her. Something about the mug breaking on top of all the other stress from the day really got to her and took her back somewhere she really didn't want to be." He flopped down onto the couch. "It's times like this that I really want to go punch Stone's face in."

"Wanted to do that since I heard about him," John commented absently, still thumbing through the day's notes.

Jack looked at him, thoughtful look on his face. "You know, I'm going to have to hurt you if you hurt Rose." His tone was almost nonchalant but the look in his eyes when John glanced up showed that he was completely serious.

"Wasn't planning on hurting her, Captain, you can stand down. There's nothing going on between me and Rose so don't know why you feel the need to threaten me." John glanced back down at his papers halfway through speaking, trying to get back to finding the pattern he felt had to be there.

"That's bullshit and you know it."

"It's the truth," John rejoined stubbornly.

"No. I've watched the two of you and there's _something_ there. And I'm not going to let you sit there and tell me that you don't think she's attractive."

The older man ran a hand down his face as he turned to face the Captain. "Never said I didn't think she was attractive, would have to be blind to not notice that. But I've only known her for a day and there's nothing going on."

Jack thought about the way John's eyes almost involuntarily tracked Rose around the room when she moved and the multiple occasions they'd essentially forgotten about him when they started talking to each other and knew that John was deluding himself if he honestly thought something wasn't building there. That wasn't even taking into account how protective John was being, which was even more than he usually was on cases like this. Jack had never seen him be so gentle with anyone before. And then there was the whole matter of John picking a completely sloshed Rose up when she called and he had no idea who she was. And the kiss and whatever else had happened last night and this morning that they hadn't mentioned to him. All things considered, John and Rose may have known each other for less than twenty-four hours but there was definitely something brewing between them.

Jack knew how to pick his battles though and arguing with John wasn't going to get him anywhere so he bit back his observations. "Getting anywhere with the case?"

"No. There's got to be a pattern here. The Master didn't just choose Stone at random, there has to be a reason and if we find that reason I think we'll be able to trace everything back to Saxon." He paused for a minute, perusing the current page of notes again. "An' this can't be the first time he's done something like this. There have to be more cases like this that have been swept under the rug and never connected to the Master."

"He's been careful, letting other people do his dirty work while he reaps all the benefits and keeps his nose clean," Jack mused, moving to pick up the lists Rose had made.

"Not careful enough, this time. We know what he's up to now, or at least that he's involved."

"Guess he didn't count on Rose," Jack pointed out. "Without her, we'd have no idea that he was involved in Stone's rise to power, even if we were seriously investigating."

John's head snapped up, his blue eyes freezing Jack in place. "That's why he wants Rose dead. He knows that she knows he's involved in this business with Stone. He was going to have her killed just for knowing who he was."

The last sentence was practically growled and Jack had to fight the urge to take a step back from his friend.

"Yeah, we'd already established that he's a bastard. At least now we probably know why he sent someone after Rose and she doesn't have to torture herself trying to remember what she could have possibly overheard that would lead to him trying to have her killed." Jack pointed out, trying to calm John down before he woke Rose up, assuming she'd actually managed to get to sleep.

The Doctor took a deep breath and let it out, letting some of the tension seep out of his muscles with the exhale. "You're right. We'll tell her when she wakes up. This still doesn't actually get us any closer to tying the Master to Stone. We just have circumstantial evidence."

John pushed to his feet and started pacing the room as he tried to talk through it all. "We have Rose's eyewitness account of Saxon meeting with Stone multiple times. We have a hit put out on Rose that follows the Master's operating method in previous cases. Those are connected but we can't prove it without finding the hitman and getting him to confess." Jack snorted at that. John ignored him. "We also have Jimmy Stone's sudden prominence as a drug dealer and general thug that was obviously funded and backed by someone else. We know it's the Master but, again, can't prove it beyond Rose's word that he was seen with Stone, presumably talking business.

"What we need is the reason the Master was interested in Stone and in that neighborhood. I'm assumin' he picked Stone since he figured he could easily bribe and control him and Stone wouldn't be clever enough to realize he was being used, or care if he was. But why that neighborhood? What does the Master want with it?"

"Maybe he's done this with other neighborhoods and is working on establishing control over larger portions of the city," Jack offered. This was the most he'd ever seen John talk in one go but it was clear that laying everything out verbally was helping him organize his thoughts.

"Likely. If we could get to our offices we could look for similar cases and see if there's anything to help establish a pattern but doing that would be giving away where we're hidden unnecessarily."

John fell silent, still pacing the small room as he tried to find the string that would tie everything together and let him take out his personal adversary and rid London of his menace.

"What we need to do is somehow draw the Master out and make him implicate himself in the attempted hit and in Stone's business. Both would be best but we could get by with just one. Trouble is, he won't just agree to a meeting, he's too smart for that. Which leaves us with the dilemma of how to lure him out into the open without making him overly suspicious," John finished, brow furrowed as he tried to puzzle through this latest obstacle to his plans.

Rose's voice from the doorway startled both men since they hadn't heard her approach. What she said startled them even more.

"Use me as bait."


	7. Chapter 7

look at this, a new chapter just over a week after the last one! That's probably a record of some sort for me ;) Thanks so much for all of y'all's support of this fic and sticking with my crazily inconsistent updating!

in other news: updated the description of the overall fic to better reflect where this has gone.

andddd, next chapter _should_ be the long-awaited showdown with the Master! I'm still thinking two more chapters or so on this. (I know I said that last chapter but shhh)

* * *

_"Use me as bait."_

Rose watched both men whip around to face her, shock written all over their faces. She took advantage of their silence to continue.

"You need him to expose himself and he is after me so use me as bait. He'll come after me himself if he's so worried about me knowin' who he is."

"Do you hear yourself, Rose? You're advocating for the Master to come after you personally. The man who already tried to have you killed and you want to put yourself out there and in danger again?" John's heart was beating double-time just at the thought.

Rose thrust her chin forward stubbornly. "I know what I'm suggesting, John. I'm blonde, not stupid."

"Could've fooled me," he muttered.

"Oi! You don't get to do that, you don't get to call me stupid. No one does. Learned that the hard way but I'm not going back," Rose stated, voice heated and eyes flashing. She walked closer to John, glaring at him. "I have a solution to your problem of drawing the Master out and you want to shoot it down just because you didn't come up with it yourself."

"That's not why," he said, matching her heat and volume and pushing back the twin surges of shame and pride from her telling him off and from needing to be told off to focus on the bigger matter at hand.

"Then, _please_, share why you don't want to use my plan. Got a better one?" Rose was less than a foot away from him now, crowding him.

"Because it's not safe!" John exclaimed. He reached out and put his hands on Rose's shoulders. "You wouldn't be safe and I wish I did have a better plan so you wouldn't feel like you needed to do this."

"Despite what you might think, I'm not a damsel in distress," Rose answered coolly.

John threw his hands up and paced away from her. "I'm not trying to say you're not capable of taking care of yourself."

"Sounds like what you're saying," she said crossing her arms over her chest.

"I just don't want to put you in danger! It's not the same thing!"

"You and Jack would keep me safe. Even if you couldn't, I _can_ take care of myself." She stared him down for a moment before softening her face and tone. "John, I'm volunteering to do this. You can't keep me wrapped in cotton wool just 'cause you're worried I might get hurt. This is our best chance to get the Master to expose himself and you know it."

Jack cut in, causing both of them to jump. "She's right, Doc. Using Rose to lure him out is our best bet at getting him with the resources we currently have."

John cursed under his breath and sat down heavily in one of the armchairs. "I _know_ it's the best plan we have, I just don't like it."

Rose walked over to him and cupped his cheek for a moment, making him look up at her. "Hey, it's not like I'm going to be going into this blind. You and Jack are going to make sure I'm ready and we're going to take this bastard down."

John reached for her hand, grasping it in his own. "He's ruthless, Rose, and he always gets what he wants. And he wants you dead." He ignored her flinch, needing to make sure she knew what she was getting herself into. "And yeah, me and Jack will make sure you have every advantage we can give you and will be backing you up but this will put you one on one with him and I don't trust him to play by the rules."

"Good thing I never much liked rules anyways," Rose said with a small smile, squeezing his hand. "Let's not play by the rules either. He'll probably expect us to do everythin' by the book since you want to bring him in but I don't have to. I'm not part of your company or whatever it is so I don't have rules."

"Clever Rose," John said, pushing to his feet once more, dropping Rose's hand in the process. He dropped a kiss on Rose's forehead before pacing towards Jack. "We can play by his rules, or lack of them rather, and catch him off guard."

"Plus we know he's going to underestimate Rose and we could exploit that," Jack added.

"Exactly. This might actually work."

"You're inspiring so much confidence in us, Doc," Jack drawled.

"So, we're going with my plan?" Rose asked through a yawn.

"Looks like," Jack said as the Doctor started rifling through papers again. "Why don't you go get some sleep while Doc here does his crazy planning thing? We'll fill you in in the morning. But if you're going to be facing down our resident evil mastermind sometime soon you need to be well rested."

"'Kay," Rose agreed, finally starting to feel sleepy. She'd tried to go to sleep earlier after Jack had talked her down but she'd been restless and then she heard him and John talking about the case and had figured if she wasn't sleeping then she might as well help. Now though, they had the beginnings of a plan and she felt like she could actually rest.

"Night, boys," she said, waving at them as she left the room again. She smiled when they told her good night in synchronization and proceeded to start bickering. She was still smiling when she curled up in the guest bedroom. Her last thoughts before drifting off to sleep was that it was good to finally feel safe somewhere, to feel like she belonged in this slightly dysfunctional little group they'd formed.

Jack and John spent a few more hours trying to hammer out a solid plan before admitting that they needed sleep as well so they would be on top form while protecting Rose. Jack bid the Doctor good night after tossing him some blankets and disappeared to his own room.

John stretched out on the sofa, trying to get his mind to stop spinning through different iterations of the plan so he could get to sleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw all the different ways it could all go wrong and they all ended in Rose dead or grievously injured or gone, ended with the Master smirking at him, victorious. He finally managed to drop off, exhaustion getting the best of him. The twin spectres of losing Rose and losing to the Master continued to haunt him in his unconsciousness as well.

When Rose woke up the flat was quiet. Figuring the boys were still asleep, she rolled out of bed and padded to the kitchen to make a cuppa. If she timed it right, she thought as she went through the motions of making tea, she could grab a quick shower and then start breakfast for everyone before her two protectors woke up.

She had just taken her first sip of tea when she heard a muffled cry from the living room. She set her mug down and rushed in to see what was wrong.

John was on the sofa, fighting against the blankets that were wrapped around him, face screwed up in pain. Cautiously she moved closer to him, not wanting to startle him out of the nightmare in case it was violent.

"John," she called softly. "John, wake up. It's Rose, you're safe, you just need to wake up." She repeated herself a few times until he finally sat up with a start, breathing heavily.

"John?" Rose questioned, trying to draw his attention away from whatever was going through his head.

"Rose." Her name sounded like a prayer when he said it, felt like one. His eyes wandered all over her face like he was committing it to memory. He reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand, rubbing his thumb across her skin. "You're safe."

Rose opened her mouth to say that of course she was, it was him who'd been having a nightmare, when she realized that his nightmare was probably about her _not_ being safe. He'd been worried about protecting her when she'd proposed her plan of acting as bait and apparently that worry had followed him into his dreams.

"Yeah," she whispered. "I'm safe. I'm here with you and I'm safe."

There was a vulnerability, a softness in his eyes that she hadn't seen before. "I lost you, you were gone."

"It was just a dream, John. A nightmare. I'm right here and you haven't lost me. Not going anywhere, me. Stuck with me, you are." She gave him a tentative smile.

John leaned forward, resting his forehead against hers. He let out a shaky exhale that she felt skitter across her lips. "Good. Can't lose you."

"You won't," she whispered. She desperately wanted to close the small gap between their lips. She'd already told him once that she still wanted to kiss him while she was sober but now wasn't the time, not when he was unsteady after a nightmare.

He solved the dilemma for her, angling his head and moving that final inch to press his lips against hers softly. It was almost unbearably tender, the kiss as fragile as the moment. Rose responded in kind, kissing him back briefly before pulling away.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have do-" John started, obviously starting to panic.

"You definitely should have. I wanted it too but I'm not gonna take advantage of you after your nightmare," Rose answered with a reassuring smile. "So we're going to wait until we're both sober and mostly calm before trying this again."

"Now who's being the noble one?" John groused, sounding more like his normal self.

"You're rubbing off on me, apparently," Rose said cheerfully, moving away from him and towards the kitchen again. She turned and shot him a heated smile before disappearing around the dividing wall, "They do say the third time's the charm though, so there is that to look forward to."

John groaned and let his head fall back against the sofa.

This was all ridiculous. He'd known Rose for a day. That was it. But in that short amount of time she had insinuated herself into his heart somehow, made herself an integral part of his world. He had told Jack that there wasn't anything between him and Rose and he'd been trying to believe it himself, been trying to ignore the fact that it felt like he was caught in her gravity. Tried, without success, to convince himself that whatever he was feeling was nothing more than simple physical attraction. Jack had seen straight through him and, really, John had known nothing about this thing with Rose was simple from that first morning in his flat.

Apparently she was feeling the same way, though. For some inexplicable reason, she seemed to want him as much as he wanted her if her kiss and her words about being stuck with him and not going anywhere were to be believed. And really, what else could he judge by?

He just had to make sure that none of his nightmares came true, had to make sure she stayed safe through the upcoming showdown with the Master. Once they made it through to the other side of this mess, they could see if the third time really was the charm and explore the universe of possibilities in front of them.

For now though, he could smell Rose making breakfast and they had a plan to finalize and put into action. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, they would be free of the Master and his spider web.


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry once again for the long gap between chapters. I know I said the confrontation with the Master would be this chapter but...well the muse disagreed. It /starts/ in this chapter though! :) Should have lots of fun action-y stuff next time!

* * *

Jack joined them in the kitchen as Rose put food on the table. The trio talked as they ate, going over the intricacies of the plan and throwing out what-if scenarios so they would be prepared in case things went pear-shaped.

By the time they were leaving the flat to actually put the plan in action, Rose felt extremely prepared. She was still terrified, to be sure, but the plan was sound and she knew John and Jack would be in contact with her at all times. Jack had produced a set of earbuds that would be undetectable in a standard tech scan should the Master chose to utilize one. The tech meant her boys would be able to hear everything she said and a direct wire and a button cam ensured that every move that Saxon made, every word that he uttered, would be recorded as evidence.

The whole plan hinged on Saxon's arrogance and the fact that he expected Rose to be nothing more than a scared, simpering victim to lull him into complacency. The more he underestimated Rose, the more likely he was to incriminate himself while talking to her.

"Everyone ready?" Jack asked.

"Think so," John answered, fiddling with the fit of his earbud. "Rose?"

She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself and stop her hands from shaking. "Ready as I'm gonna be."

John took a long look at her and then tossed the car keys to Jack. "Go get the car started, Captain. We'll be down in a minute."

"Lock the door behind you," Jack said in response, throwing a different set of keys to the Doctor who deftly plucked them out of the air and pocketed them.

As soon as Jack disappeared, John took a step closer to Rose. "Are you sure you're okay with all of this?"

"It's our best chance of taking Saxon down," she replied.

"That's not an answer."

"Yeah, it is," she said with a wan smile. "I'm scared, yeah, but I'm going to do this anyways because I need to and you need me to."

John couldn't suppress the gentle, slightly goofy smile that appeared on his face, didn't want to. He cupped her cheek in one of his hands. "You're incredibly brave, Rose. Thank you."

Rose ducked her head, unable to meet his eyes when they were burning with sincerity and belief that she did not think she deserved. Her? Brave?

"'M not brave," she murmured. "I'm _terrified_."

"Doesn't mean you're not brave," John countered gently. He tipped her face up so she was looking at him again, leaving his fingers in place under her chin. "Bravery is standing up and doing the right thing even through it's not the easy thing or what most people would choose to do. It's doing what needs to be done even when you're scared to death."

Rose cracked a weak smile, trying to break the serious mood they'd fallen into. "Blimey, you could have a second job as a motivational speaker."

"You're probably the only one to think that," he admitted with a smile of his own.

There was a beat of silence that stretched between them, at once fleeting and infinite as they stared at each other.

Rose trapped John's hand against her cheek and leaned into his touch. "Think I'm ready now."

He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead. "Let's go take down these bastards, then."

Rose's expression hardened at his words and she gave a decisive nod as their hands dropped from her face.

They left the flat together, locking it behind them. Their hands found each other in the life, fingers entwining and the contact grounding them both. When they reached the door of the building, John gave her hand a squeeze before dropping it and pushing the door open for her to go through. From that moment on they would have to be in character for the plan, have to assume that they were being watched.

There was no further conversation as they got into the car or as they drove to a shopping center not too far from Jack's place that the Captain had insisted was perfect for their needs.

Rose let her fear rise to the surface. She needed the Master to think she was just a scared little girl and authenticity was key. Tapping into her very real fear and letting it show when all she wanted to do was tamp it down was uncomfortable but it was necessary. She was going to wear that genuine fear like a mask and hope that the knowledge that she was purposely allowing it to show and grow would help her feel braver and more in control.

She rather thought it was working as they exited the car. Her hands were shaking again and she knew she probably looked properly terrified but she felt calmer.

Rose listened with half an ear as John and Jack gave her a pretend lecture about how they were only here so she could get necessities, not so she could shop or browse for hours. To an outside eye it would look like her two protectors didn't much care about Rose or her state of mind, which is just what they wanted.

As Rose brushed by John to head into the first shop she lifted his mobile from is jacket pocket without a hitch. She was already out of sight in the women's clothing section of whatever department store she'd wandered into when his voice came through the earpiece.

"That was some very nice pickpocketing. You'll have to teach me how you did that so smoothly," John said softly.

Rose suppressed a smile and resisted answering, knowing she needed to get down to business. "Dialing the phone now," she said, barely moving her lips.

"Good luck, Rose," Jack chimed in.

She took a deep breath and focused on bringing all of her fear and worry to the forefront of her mind instead of the anger that she'd been cultivating towards the person she was calling. She punched in the familiar string of digits and waited as it rang three times before the call was answered.

"Who's this?" The voice on the other end of the line was deep and suspicious and Rose had to choke back bile at hearing it again. She'd thought she was ready but this might prove to be more difficult than she anticipated.

"Jimmy, it's me. It's Rose."

"Well, fuck. Where the hell have you been? You fucking ran out on me and you know no one leaves me," Jimmy said, voice threatening. "Calling to come running back, aren't ya, babe? If you're real good I might let you."

Rose shuddered as he talked, from both revulsion and at the first-hand knowledge of just what Jimmy considered "good behavior." She'd tried to leave once before and had had to abide by it when she'd realized there was no where she could go at that time but back to Jimmy.

"You've got this Rose. Just stick to the plan and you can be done with him forever." Jack's voice pulled her out of her memories and reminded her that she was out this time and she wasn't going back. Jimmy couldn't touch her anymore.

"'S not why I'm calling, Jimmy." She knew the slight tremble in her voice wasn't an act but hopefully John and Jack would think it was. John thought she was brave and she wanted to keep it that way even though she felt anything but.

"Then why the fuck did you ring me?"

"I need to talk to Saxon." Rose's voice was small in comparison to Jimmy's angry roar.

Her ex laughed. "Now why would someone as important as him want to talk to a nothing like you, huh?"

She took a deep breath and tried to sound as steady as possible. "Because I have information he'll want. Tell him to ring me at this number if he wants to know about the Doctor."

"Lookit you tryin' to sound all mysterious and important," he sneered. "It ain't working. Can't convince nobody when you're voice is shaking."

"I'm serious, Jimmy," she protested.

He just laughed. "Why don't you just come on back to the flat and we can talk about how much good behavior I expect from you for being gone for so long."

"I'm not coming back and unless you want to risk Saxon being upset with you, you tell him to call me."

Rose hung up as Jimmy spewed out a new round of insults and sputtered out his disbelief at her talking back to him. She'd talked back to him many times before but she usually paid for it instead of just getting to ring off.

"That was excellent, Rose," John soothed gently over the comms. "You did wonderfully. Now just keep wandering so it looks like you're avoiding us and wait for Saxon to call."

"Got it," Rose confirmed. She was a bit shaky after the call with Jimmy but she felt better now that it was over with. The Master would be more easily fooled by her act since he had almost nothing to compare her behavior to. He didn't know her tells so she didn't have to worry about suppressing them as much. He was going to expect her to be cowering and scared and that's exactly what she was going to give him.

As Rose moved into the next section of the department store, John caught Jack's eye and motioned him over. He slipped his earbud out and waited for Jack to do the same before speaking.

"That sorry excuse for a man never gets anywhere near Rose ever again," he snarled once he was sure Rose couldn't hear them. Listening to Jimmy just expect Rose to come crawling back and hearing the very real tremors in Rose's voice break through her controlled façade of fear had set his blood to boiling.

"Agreed," Jack said grimly. His jaw was clenched and John knew that he was feeling the same desire to punch the wanker's face in as he was.

They both put their earbuds back in just in time to hear Rose brush off a sales person asking if she needed assistance. They moved away from each other and started their wait.

It was Saxon's move now.

Fifteen minutes passed before the phone in Rose's hand rang. She whispered that it was time and then answered the call.

"H-hello?"

"Ah, my little elusive flower at last. How are you, Rose?"

"Saxon?"

The man whined. "Oh come now, if you've been spending time with the Doctor I'm sure you know my name." His voice hardened. "Use it."

"Master," she said the smallest voice she could manage. The man was just as disturbing as she remembered him.

"Good, excellent," he said cheerfully. "Now, I heard that you have information for me regarding a certain pesky physician."

"Yes," Rose answered quietly, letting her voice shake. So far Saxon was acting as arrogant as they had hoped. All she had to do was keep up her act and hopefully he would slip up.

"So, how is it that you're seeking me out? And from the Doctor's phone, no less! Last I hear you were under his protection."

She could hear the suspicion coloring his words and did her best to sound as scared and unsure as possible. "I heard him talking to his friend and he said that you and he were enemies and that you were tryin' to kill me and that they didn't know how to stop you."

The Master's gleeful laughter cut her off. "Oh Rose, They'll never be able to stop me. They don't even know what I'm doing."

Rose wanted to press him about what his plans were but knew it would be too obvious and would just serve to tip him off that she had an agenda. She was going to have to stroke his ego some more if she wanted to know more.

"That's what it sounded like to me," Rose said, "so I thought I should talk to the man with the power."

"You found him," he answered, oozing conceit. "What do you want?"

"To not die," Rose said on a shaky exhale.

"Isn't that what everyone wants," the Master rejoined.

"Yeah, I guess, but not everyone has a kill order out on them."

"True," he conceded with what sounded like a smile. "So what do you have fore me that could convince me to let you live and protect you from the bad people trying to kill you?"

Rose wanted to curse. He wasn't going to admit to putting the hit out on her quite that easily apparently. "Information about the Doctor and details about what he knows about you and your business." She paused, letting him consider what she might know. "Also his mobile, if you're interested in having it."

There was a long pause on the other end of the line as the Master weighed her offer. Rose worried that she had sounded too confident in making the offer and had somehow given the game away too soon.

"We have a deal, Miss Tyler, but I expect the information you have to be good, otherwise I consider it all null and void." He continued talking over her stuttered and shaky thanks. "Meet me in the warehouse two blocks from where you are now. I'll send the address to the Doctor's mobile. It should go without saying but don't let the two idiots you arrived with follow you."

"Y-yes sir." Rose answered, relieved that he was treating her like an idiot. Maybe he was buying the act after all.

"Good girl," Saxon sneered. "And, Rose, if you're playing me somehow I _will_ know it and you will regret the fact that whoever is trying to kill you has failed thus far."

Before Rose could reply, the line went dead.

"Damn," she whispered under her breath. So much for the Master not suspecting anything, she thought.

She looked down when the mobile vibrated in her hand, indicating a new text. Trying not to move her lips, Rose read off the address that Saxon had sent her so John and Jack knew where to go.

"You doing okay still, Rosie?" Jack asked

"As good as can be expected given what's goin' on," she answered, ducking behind a rack of cookware so that no one could see her talking.

"You did great," John praised. "Almost got him to slip and admit that he was the one who ordered the hit."

"You think he suspects something?" Rose asked, worry leaking into her tone.

"Nah, that was just a scare tactic, it was," John reassured her. "He just wanted to make sure you thought twice about double crossing him in case you were thinking about calling the police or something. He still thinks you're harmless and easily manipulated."

"How do you know?"

"He wouldn't have warned you off if he thought you were an actual threat. He thinks he has you right where he wants you and so his guard will be down when you meet."

"You sure?" Rose asked uncertainly.

"Pretty sure, yeah."

"'Kay, you two just get to the meeting spot and get in place. I'll start walking that direction in a mo."

John and Jack exchanged a look as Rose's voice took on a note of steely determination as she tried to hide her fear from them.

"It really is going to be alright," Jack said as he started jogging towards the building the Master had selected and quickly scanning for guards and cameras. "John and I have your back."

Rose made a soft sound indicating that she'd heard him but said nothing.

John was no longer in Jack's line of sight but he would have bet good money that the older man looked worried as hell upon hearing Rose's non-answer. It was too late to reassure her though. Everything was in motion and there was no stopping it now. The Master was on his way and it was up to Rose to get the confession that they needed to put him away.

As he slid into position inside the warehouse, John prayed to every deity he could think of that Rose would come out of this unharmed and that taking down his old nemesis wouldn't come at the cost of the one person he'd found that he felt could actually help him become the good man she had named him.

He had promised Rose over and over again that he and Jack would protect her and he planned on keeping that promise. Their plan was solid, he was of it, but so much could still go wrong. The fact that John had no direct control over the situation meant he had to watch and listen and worry from a distance as Rose faced off with the Master, armed only with her wits.

It was much too late to try and convince himself that his protectiveness towards this woman was just his normal, professional instincts. Everything had been insane since Rose had dropped into his life, not the least of which was the sheer force and enormity of the emotions that bubbled to the surface when she was involved. Maybe it was too soon to tell if anything between himself and Rose would work out or even last past the forced closeness this crisis had created but there was no denying that he wanted there to be something. He wanted there to be some sort of future with her and it scared him more than he was quite ready to admit.

It was all too fast but it felt right all the same. They just had to make it through this and then he could see if Rose was right about the third time being the charm.

John shook himself out of his uncharacteristically sentimental train of thought and checked his surroundings one more time to ensure that he would not be visible to anyone the Master sent in to sweep the place before his arrival.

"In position," he whispered.

"Me too," Jack confirmed. "Rose, start heading this way if you haven't already. No one else has entered the building but I have eyes on a team of three that may be heading this direction."

"Is Saxon with them?" John queried once Rose had indicated that she was on her way.

"No, but I would guess he is close and will make an appearance once these guys give him the all clear." He paused. "Keep your head down, Doc. Would hate for them to injure that pretty face of yours if they spot you and get trigger happy."

"Noted," John answered dryly before going silent, anticipating the entry of the Master's goons.

"Saxon's team entering now," Jack reported. "I can also see Rose. ETA three minutes."

Rose listened to Jack's reports as she walked down the street towards the warehouse. She tugged on the hem of her jacket before wrapping her arms around herself as she walked. It wasn't just the cold that was making her shiver but she would definitely blame it on that if anyone asked.

In just a few minutes she would be face to face with what was probably one of the most dangerous men in the world if everything John and Jack had told her was true. Sure, she'd met him before but back then she'd just thought he was another sleazy friend of Jimmy's who just happened to have money. Now she knew better and had to attempt to play him.

She knew John would be in the building with her, prepared to do whatever was necessary in order to keep her safe and that Jack would be monitoring the outside of the building, ready to step in if necessary. They had her back but she knew the truth was that she was ultimately on her own as she faced off against the man who had ordered her murder and was more than likely planning on killing her, deal or no.

She'd never been more scared.

She'd never felt so powerful either.

Her boys trusted her to do this and she'd be damned if she was going to let them down. No one had to know that her fear was as genuine as her rage, that the shaking of the sheep coexisted with and fed the snarl of the wolf. She just had to play the sheep, the sacrificial lamb, for Saxon and hope that he didn't see her sharp teeth before they closed around his throat.

Rose took a deep breath and opened the side door of the warehouse a minute after Jack confirmed that the Master's men had exited. She stepped inside and swept her gaze over the interior, unable to ascertain where the Doctor had concealed himself.

The cavernous room left her feeling exposed and vulnerable, rooting her to the spot as the door swung shut loudly behind her. It was only the warm weight of John's watchful gaze and a whispered "good luck" from both the Doctor and the Captain that gave her the courage to walk further into the room.

She had just reached the middle of the room when she heard a car shriek to a stop outside the warehouse and she tensed up. Jack barely had time to warn them that they had company before the door slammed open and the Master strode in.

He had a smarmy smile on his face and two men at his back. Rose was hard-pressed to decide if she wanted to run for cover or slap the smug look right off of his face more.

She settled on shaking in her shoes more than necessary, playing the scared little girl he expected.

The game was on and Rose was ready to play. Hopefully, she thought, Saxon wouldn't realize until much too late that there was another master playing opposite of him.


	9. Chapter 9

The showdown with the Master _finally_ commences.

AN: Ummm, it's been three months but I finally have an update! Sorry about the wait. Also, we're definitely nearing the end. I'm thinking one or two more chapters most likely.

* * *

"Why hello there," Saxon cooed, walking up to her. He looked out of place in the dusty warehouse in his immaculate suit yet seemed completely at ease, just as he had when he'd visited Jimmy. "So glad you could join us for this little chat."

Rose took a deep breath, before speaking with a tremor in her voice that wasn't entirely manufactured. "Let's just get this over with, yeah? I give you the info and the Doctor's mobile and you call off the people you have trying to kill me, that's the deal."

The Master laughed and the hairs on Rose's arms stood up at the sound. "If I like the intel you have, I'll do my best to protect you from whoever is trying to kill you."

Jack swore in her ear and Rose wished she could echo the sentiment. She needed him to admit to putting a contract out on her and he kept sidestepping it with an ease that spoke of a significant amount of practice.

"Someone's coming into the building. Looks like they're with Saxon and they're carrying something."

Rose was still listening to the last of Jack's warning when Saxon started talking again.

"Why don't we step over here, standing in the middle of this place seems so cliché and I'd rather not feel like I'm in some low budget movie." Saxon grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the edge of the room where his underling was setting up a table. Rose resisted but the slim man was deceptively strong so before long she was standing next to the table, Saxon's hand still holding her arm in a bruising grip.

John grit his teeth when he saw the Master put his hand on Rose. Him manhandling Rose after everything she'd been through was another reason on his very long list of reasons that he wanted to punch Saxon's face in. When he realized where he was taking her he let out a curse of his own.

"Rose, he took you out of my line of sight. I'm blind up here now. I'll try to move to reestablish visual but for now Jack and I both only have audio on you," he whispered.

"Do you think he knows you're up there?" Jack asked, voicing Rose's worry as well.

"No, I think he's just being a prick and happened to pick the only spot in the warehouse I can't see." John grumbled.

Rose halfway listened to her boys talk as Saxon finally let go of her arm and sat down in the single chair his man had provided. He gestured to the other side of the table, apparently expecting her to stand opposite of him.

It was terrifying knowing that John wasn't keeping an eye on her any longer but Rose wasn't going to disappoint him and Jack by folding at the first sign of pressure. She mentally straightened her spine and outwardly shuffled to where the Master wanted her, head bowed in a picture of submission.

"Much better," Saxon said, leaning back in his chair. "Now, down to business. Why don't you go ahead and hand over the Doctor's mobile."

"Don't give it to him yet," John instructed. They'd wiped most of the sensitive data from it, leaving just enough about the Master for him to think he was hitting the jackpot when he first got a look at it.

"I think I'll hold onto it for now," Rose said haltingly, putting a possessive hand over where it rested in her pocket. "It's my only physical bargaining chip and I'm more comfortable havin' it with me until I know you're going to hold up your end of the deal."

"I can't promise my protection until I know your information's good and that includes whatever is on that phone."

"How do I know you won't just get rid of me as soon as I hand it over?" Rose asked, tremor back in her voice.

"You don't," Saxon said, sickly sweet smile forming on his lips. He held his hand out and beckoned for her to hand over the phone.

"No, I need to know that people are going to stop trying to kill me before I give it to you."

"Seems we're at a standoff then, Miss Tyler. You are surprisingly difficult to deal with," he commented, leaning forward over the table. Rose's eyes widened as he continued in an offhand manner. "It's no wonder that Mr. Stone went out of his way to try and teach you some manners. His methods were somewhat crude but…so is he. Fitting really."

He paused for a moment. "Now, what information do you think you have, besides the Doctor's mobile, that could entice me to call off your impending assassination that I went through _so _much effort to secure."

"Got him," John whispered darkly.

Rose resisted smiling at the satisfaction evident in John's words and the calming effect he had on her. One mission down, one to go.

"I know the Doctor suspects that your dealings with Jimmy are a part of something bigger," she offered, making sure to sound as scared as she could. It didn't require much acting skill as Saxon wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet in her head if he picked up on the fact that she was satisfied with their proceedings so far and that was not the plan, not by a longshot.

The Master propped his chin up on his fist and made a show of contemplating her statement. "That's not much of a problem and not nearly valuable enough information to guarantee your safety."

Rose swallowed hard. "What if I told you that he and the Captain are working together to piece together all the information they have on you to figure out what that bigger plan is?"

"I'm listening," the Master drawled.

"They're still gatherin' their information so you have time to cover up whatever it is you're doing," Rose continued.

"They'll never figure it out," he answered cheerfully. "I'm planning something that would never even cross their tiny little minds."

"Doesn't hurt to be careful, though," Rose said. "The Doctor seemed pretty confident."

"Oh that one's always confident," Saxon replied, leaning back in his chair. "Doesn't mean he knows what he's doing, though."

Jack snorted in her earpiece.

"What are you doing?" Rose asked, disregarding Jack's aside and John's annoyed huff.

He tutted at her. "Now, why would I tell you that? You've exhausted your information, little flower. Hand over the Doctor's mobile and I'll call my men off and you're free to go. But if you ever breathe a word of this conversation to anyone I will not hesitate to put a bullet in that pretty head of yours."

Rose nodded silently, shaken to the core by how nonchalant the man was while threatening her life. "Got it," she said.

"Mobile." He held out his hand again.

"Not until you call off your men," Rose maintained stubbornly. "Told you I don't want to die."

The smile he gave her chilled Rose's blood. "I'm sorry, that's just not an option."

Rose opened her mouth to ask what he meant but before she could make a sound, the sharp report of a gunshot echoed through the warehouse, shattering the silence as a bullet flew towards Rose from the gun in the Master's hand.

"Take the mobile off her and then get rid of the body," Saxon said, stripping off his gloves and handing the gun to one of his henchmen. "Her being dead is one less thorn in my side at least."

He waited until his companion gave a halfhearted chuckle at his pun before grinning and laughing himself.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The bottom dropped out of John's stomach as the shot echoed through the large space. Not caring if he was seen and completely ignoring Jack's panicked questions in his ear, John started scrambling across the catwalks to get a visual on what was happening. He was talking over Jack, saying Rose's name over and over, praying to every deity he could name and some that he couldn't that she would answer him.

He found a ladder and slid down halfway before jumping the rest of the way to the floor. He was pulling out his sidearm, having abandoned his sniper rifle in the catwalks as soon as the shot rang out, when Saxon walked around the corner.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't the mighty Doctor," the man said, rocking back on his heels and sticking his hands in his pockets. "Should've known Jimmy's little tart couldn't have come up with that intel and this whole meeting all on her own. What a shame you aren't very good at making plans either, always getting people you're trying to protect killed. Tsk tsk, some doctor you are."

The Master's smile was the very definition of smarmy and John barely resisted punching him in the teeth. It could wait until later, right now he had to get to Rose. He needed to see her, there was no way he was trusting Saxon's word that Rose was actually dead.

"Get out of my way," John growled.

"She's dead, getting there faster won't change anything. Why not stay here and have a chat with me? We have _so _much to talk about."

"Not interested." He pointed his gun at Saxon.

The man just laughed.

"Now, we both know you're not going to-" His sentence was cut off by his own scream and another gunshot. "You _shot_ me." He said in shock from the floor where he had fallen. "You actually shot me." Blood was pooling on the concrete floor around his right knee where a bullet from John's gun had impacted.

"You were in my way." John stepped around him and started towards the corner that hid Rose from view. A glare from him sent the Master's cronies scrambling, none of them loyal enough to their employer to risk getting in John's way as well.

"Don't tell me you actually care about the girl?" Saxon said incredulously from behind John. "She's nobody, just a pawn in the game!"

The Doctor didn't answer him, filling in Jack instead who was still asking questions about the gunshots and Rose. "Captain, our target is incapacitated if you'd like to come collect him. I'm on my way to Rose now."

John raced around the corner as soon as Jack confirmed that he was on his way inside. His heart stuttered to a stop when he caught sight of Rose was sprawled motionless on the floor. The noise of the Master still pontificating and rambling and Jack bursting into the warehouse faded away to nothing as he knelt next to Rose, carefully cupping her cheek in his hand.

"Rose? Rose, please answer me," he pleaded softly. "Rose…"

A second passed. Two. Three.

He brushed his thumb across the curve of her cheek, name still slipping off his lips like a prayer.

Rose opened her eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

Here we are, at the end at last. It's been a wild ride over the last 10 months from that original one shot to a total of almost 22k words. It has definitely been fun and thanks for sticking with me through it all!

* * *

The first thing Rose saw was the icy blue of John's eyes staring down at her, filled with worry. She wanted to reach up to soothe the crease between his eyebrows away but her head was fuzzy and everything ached and moving seemed like an impossible proposition.

"Ow," she said after a moment before wincing.

"Shh," John soothed, stroking her cheek once more. "The vest took the bullet but you're still going to be sore and I think you might have a concussion." His hand moved to the back of her head where it had impacted with the concrete floor.

His fingers were coated in blood when he removed them.

"That doesn't seem good," Rose said softly, his fingers swimming in front of her face. She tried to focus on them but concentrating was just out of her grasp.

"It's not, but you'll be fine, Rose."

"Course I will be," she said, words slurring together, "you're here after all."

John's heart twinged. "I thought you were dead, Rose." His voice cracked. "I thought you were dead because I couldn't protect you."

Rose fought through the haze fogging her mind. John shouldn't sound so despondent, not when they had both survived. She forced her hand up to cup his cheek. "Not dead, John. And I'm only not dead because of you. Did a bang-up job of protecting me. Made sure I wore the vest, you did, and made sure I felt safe enough to do this."

His hand came up to cradle hers against his face. "You still got hurt."

"But it's going to be okay. We got him, right?"

John's lips quirked up in half-smile. "We got him. Jack should be with the bastard right now." A scream pierced the air at that moment, startling them both. "Yeah, Jack's definitely with him," he said.

Rose's eyes slipped shut as her mouth tried to produce a smile. "Don't suppose I could talk you into that third kiss now that this is over?"

He chuckled. "Not while you're bleedin' on the floor. We agreed we'd both be sober and mostly calm and I don't think this qualifies."

"Technicalities," Rose said, eyes still closed.

"Rose, I need you to stay awake."

She just made a consenting noise. She was aware of John continuing to talk to her, tone growing more concerned, more urgent but she couldn't quite make out the words. Rose tried to open her eyes, to tell him not to worry but everything faded back into black before she could manage it.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Rose came to slowly. Wherever she was was quiet and warm and much more comfortable than the warehouse floor had been. It felt _safe_. Her eyes fluttered open and she took in her surroundings. She was in Jack's guest room.

"You know, I've never seen the Doc that terrified."

Rose jolted, eyes snapping to her right where Jack's voice had come from. He was leaning back in a chair, inscrutable look on his face.

"What?" Her voice was scratchy from disuse.

Jack stayed quiet and handed her a glass of water that she drank greedily.

"Jack, what did you mean?" she asked, setting the glass back down on the nightstand.

"When you passed out in the warehouse, the Doctor walked through with you in his arms and I don't think I'll ever forget the look on his face." he paused. "I've seen him in situations where he was in imminent danger of losing his life and I've never seen him as scared as when he thought he might lose you."

Rose's head was spinning, trying to process the implications of what Jack was saying. "Survived though. I take it Saxon's taken care of?"

A feral smile curled the corners of Jack's mouth for a moment. "He's taken care of. He may be a little roughed up but he was still alive when I dropped him off at a government black site. He's their problem now and won't be causing you any more trouble."

"Good."

They lapsed into silence for a moment.

"John thinks it's his fault you got hurt," Jack said finally, watching his friend closely for her reaction.

"It's not! Told him he did a brilliant job protectin' me," Rose protested.

"He walked right past the Master and left me on my own to take care of him because he refused to leave you for even a second. I'm only here right now because I forced him to go take a break."

"How long have I been out?"

"About four hours. The Doc got you back here, stitched up your head wound, and then sat here worrying himself to death. Finally convinced him that he needed to eat since he couldn't do anything for you if he didn't take care of himself as well."

"Thanks, Jack," Rose said, reaching out a hand to him. He took it and squeezed, giving her a small smile.

"Thank _you_, Rosie. You're the reason we got the Master off the streets. I'm just glad you're okay and this is all over with."

Rose was opening her mouth to answer him when she was interrupted by a voice in the hallway.

"Do I hear you talking in there, Jack? Any change?" John opened the door to the guest bedroom as he finished his second question and froze as soon as his eyes met Rose's. Her name slipped out of his mouth almost involuntarily.

She smiled up at him. "Hi."

"You're awake."

"Heard you actually played doctor for me and got me all fixed up," Rose said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

John crossed the void between the door and the bed in just a few strides and wrapped his hands around one of hers. "Thought about taking you to hospital but didn't want to risk it. How are you feeling?"

"Head's poundin' and it feels like a lorry ran over my chest a couple of times but I'm alive and that's thanks to you from what Jack's told me."

The Doctor ducked his head, tips of his ears turning pink. "Jack's been exaggerating, as usual."

"Nope, don't think so," she shot back, squeezing his hand. "I think he was telling the truth about you stitching me up and watching over me."

"Sounds like he's been quite talkative."

"I think I'm going to leave the two of you to sort this out. I'll be in the kitchen if anyone needs me," Jack cut in before either of them could continue talking. He slipped out the door after giving them both a meaningful look and closed it behind him. Hopefully his friends would use the alone time to work out whatever was between them.

"Jack said something else," Rose said quietly as John moved to take the chair Jack had vacated.

"I'm sure he did," John groused.

"He said you still think it's your fault that I got hurt."

A pained look crossed John's face. "It is. I'm the one who didn't plan for Saxon to take you out of my line of sight. I couldn't protect you and he _shot_ you, Rose."

"But I'm still here, John. We knew going in that there was danger and that our plan wasn't perfect but everything turned out alright. We're all alive and we got Saxon. You took care of me, made me feel safe and helped me do what needed to be done. Yeah, alright, I got shot. And yes, that is _terrifying_, but I'm okay and you're here and everything's okay, yeah?" She reached out and cupped his cheek. "We made it through, John."

He raised a hand to cover the one she had on his cheek, cradling it before pulling it down so he could entwine their fingers. "I suppose we did."

"That calls for a celebration, yeah? I think we're both sober and mostly calm and I'm more than ready to claim that third kiss," Rose said with an impish smile emerging on her face.

"Third time's the charm, you said. Didn't think 'mostly calm' would include you in recovery from being shot and hitting your head, but who am I to argue with a lady?"

"Usually first in line," Rose quipped.

He grinned at her. "Cheeky."

Carefully, he leaned forward and braced himself against the bed before reaching out with his other hand to cradle her face. Slowly, making sure she was still okay, he closed the distance between them until their lips met.

It was almost chaste at first, both of them reassuring themselves that the other was alive and okay and safe. It stayed that way until John scraped his teeth across Rose's bottom lip as he pulled away briefly. He barely had time to see the flash of heat in her eyes before she was kissing him again, mouth opening beneath his for a gloriously messy kiss. It was all of the pent up desperation of trying to keep her safe and her worrying that she wasn't going to make it through. It was all of the adrenaline and fear and attraction that had been running through their veins.

It was _finally_.

John pulled back after a couple minutes and looked down at Rose. Her lips were glistening and swollen, eyes still closed and hair mussed from where his hand was. She looked thoroughly kissed and he couldn't even try to stop the grin from spreading over his face.

"Wow, um, okay," Rose started, opening her eyes to blink up at John. "Third time was definitely the charm."

He leaned down and softly brushed his lips over hers in agreement before settling back in his chair.

"So what happens now?" Rose asked. "Saxon's gone, London is a bit safer, your job is done."

"Do you think I'm going to disappear just because the job's over, Rose?" he questioned, disbelief evident in his tone. "Not gonna happen. You drunkenly stumbled into my life before you were part of my job and I'm not letting go of you just because we caught Saxon."

He paused. Panicked. "I mean, that is, I'm not going anywhere if you want me to stay. It's up to you."

"Daft man, of course I want you to stay. And you're never going to let me forget how we met, are you?"

"Nope," he replied cheerfully, grin at full force.

Rose smiled back just as brightly but it didn't last long.

"What's wrong, Rose?"

"It's just, you and Jack are both going to go back to life as normal, right? I mean, life as normal plus me since I'm keeping both of you,"

"Jack will be thrilled to hear it," John deadpanned.

Rose hit his arm and ignored his exaggerated wince, knowing he was just trying to get her to smile again. "But the thing is, I don't really have a life to go back to. Not anymore. What am I supposed to do?"

He reached out for her hand. "Whatever you want to do. You have a chance to start over and be whoever you want to be, Rose."

She chuckled weakly. "I think that might be more terrifying than being shot."

"Could be, yeah," he agreed. "But you know I'm going to be here if you want help."

"You're probably going to need help too," Rose said after a moment of pondering. "Someone in whatever the hell your mystery Agency is was trying to work to protect Saxon. You and Jack are going to have to tread carefully if you want to find out how high the conspiracy goes."

John made a face. "Was hoping you weren't going to pick up on that so quickly. Didn't want you to worry while you're still recoverin'."

"I'm always going to worry," she said gently, stroking her thumb across his. "But, since I'm probably unknown to most of the people who were working with Saxon…" she trailed off.

"You want to help," he stated flatly.

"Maybe. At least while I try and figure out who I want to be, now."

"It's going to be dangerous, Rose, just as dangerous as this business with the Master, if not more so."

"I know, but it's the right thing to do and I want to help."

John looked at her in awe. It was so rare to find someone who was so passionate about doing the right thing and he just felt so lucky to have found Rose and have her in his life now. He had a feeling that her influence would eventually help him become the good man she seemed to think he was.

"Okay, when we start trying to take down the rest of Saxon's associates you can help if you still want to but let's not make any decisions while you're still nursing a head wound."

"I'll want to," Rose promised through a yawn. "An' I'll have you know that I'm resistin' the urge to make a nurse and doctor joke."

"Get some sleep, Rose. I'll wake you up in an hour or so to check your head." John said with a fond smile.

She hummed, indicating she'd heard him, before curling into her pillow and closing her eyes. John watched her fall asleep, completely content for the first time in a long time. If this was how he felt after only a few insane days of knowing Rose Tyler, he couldn't wait to see what the rest of their future had in store.


End file.
